Category Archives: Conditions & Treatments

The location of your headache can tell a clinician a great deal about what may be the cause. The most common form of headaches are sinus, tension, migraine and cluster headaches.

If your headache is caused by your sinuses then it is usually around the front of the head and face. It is characterised by dull, pressure like pain that worsens with sudden movements of the head and bending forward. Sinus headache may begin in the morning and gradually decrease in intensity as the day moves forward. It is caused by inflammation of the sinuses that may result from allergies like hay fever or infection such as flu. It can sometimes be associated with fatigue, fever, nasal congestion, nasal discharge, watery eyes etc.

If you are suffering from a tension headache you will usually have symptoms on both sides of the head. It is characterised by mild to moderate pain, which may be constant. It usually causes a feeling of tightness, constriction or pressure especially around the temples or the back of the head. The headache may be episodic or chronic, meaning it may last for long periods of time or the headache may come and go. Causes include muscular tension, lack of sleep, stress, overworking, fatigue, emotional crisis, menstruation etc.

If your headache is caused by a migraine then it is usually one side of the head. It is characterised by intense, throbbing and pulsating pain that is intermittent in nature. Each attack of headache may last for several hours or even days. Migraines are slightly more common in females between their 20s and 30s. In some cases, migraine is preceded by an ‘aura-phase’ in which visual, sensory, speech or motor disturbance may occur lasting around 10 to 15 minutes. For example, flickering, blurred or partial loss of vision, tingling or numbness in on one side of the hand etc. You may also experience sensitivity to light, smells, noise. Nausea and vomiting is also common and this type of headache may be triggered by stress and sometimes due to certain kind of foods.

A cluster headache is closely associated with migraine, in terms of similarity in pain features. It is characterised by severe, repeated episodes of pain, of about 30 minutes to 3 hours in duration. There can be 1 to 8 attacks per day, usually at night.

Cluster headaches sometimes disturb sleep. Its distribution is on one side of the head and usually around the eye. Pain maybe associated with drooping of the eyelid, weeping of the eye on the affected side and possible nasal congestion. Spontaneous remission can occur after several months of attacks.

A cervicogenic headache arises from the base of the skull and the upper part of the cervical spine or neck. It is typically a long lasting headache. This type of headache has a broader distribution as the headache may be felt in one or more regions of the head and/or face. These occur due to a neck disorder such as an irritation of the joints in the neck or muscular tightness leading to inflammation or irritation of structures around the neck.

Many types of headaches can be helped with manual therapy including osteopathy, physiotherapy, acupuncture or massage therapy. If you suffer with ongoing headaches we may be able to help. You can arrange an appointment with one of our practitioners at Cedar Hall Clinics in Benfleet or Thurrock to help diagnose and treat your head pain.

A large number of new patients are recommended by word of mouth & we treat a variety of painful conditions. Our reputation is based on patient experience which is very important to us. Recommendations also come from local GPs, midwives, personal trainers & hospital consultants. Our free assessments give you a chance to decide if Osteopathy is right for you with no obligation and no signing up for a specific number of appointments. If a couple of sessions is all you need – we’re happy!

We treat many golfers at Cedar Hall Clinics for various conditions, but lower back pain (lumbar spine region) is one of the most common ailments and can be a problem for golfers of all ages. Various studies have estimated that roughly a third of all golfers will struggle with lower back pain at some point in their lives.

What causes this pain?

Each individual case is different and the cause of the lower back pain can vary but in our experience a lack of mobility in the ankles, hips, middle back (thoracic spine) and shoulders forces the lower back to work excessively hard. This puts a lot of pressure on the sacroiliac joint (SIJ) – the spot where the spine connects with the pelvis – as many golfers will rely on their lower back to generate the turn and power in their swings. This is particularly true for golfers with weak glute and hip muscles and those that have a poor range of motion in their mid-back region.

Another issue is that golf is a one-sided sport and golfers tend to put more stress on one side of the pelvis than the other. Most golfers also aren’t very good at stretching and warming up prior to teeing off and this can be a significant contributor to back pain after their round.

So what can be done?

Warm up properly
Going straight to the first tee from your car or the clubhouse without doing a warm up is one of the surest ways of ending up with lower back pain. Give yourself an extra 15 minutes and start your warm up with some simple stretches on the following areas;

Shoulder & Torso: Hold a golf club with both hands across the shoulders and gently rotate the torso on both sides

Hips: In a seating position, pull one knee to the chest and repeat on the other side

Hamstrings: Starting in a standing position, bend over and try to touch the toes. Having flexibility in your hamstrings is essential if you want to avoid back pain as it will allow more movement in the pelvis and help reduce the stress on the lower back.

Practice smooth swings with good rhythm

With a proper swing you should be using the shoulders, chest, pelvis (hip) and lower back muscles to share the load of the swing. Practicing smooth rhythmic swings helps to develop muscle memory and prepares the muscle groups for the torque (force) and torsion (twisting) that a golf swing produces. Begin with the smaller irons and progress up to the larger woods, as this process will allow the muscles to warm up incrementally.

Use a trolley to carry the golf bag

Golf bags can be heavy and very often you will see golfers carrying them with just one strap on the shoulder. This will create too much pressure on one side of the pelvis. We would always recommend using a golf trolley or buggy, but if you want to carry your bag make sure to use the dual straps to evenly split the weight across the back. This will reduce the chances of developing low back pain from an uneven load.

How osteopathy can help

If none of the above tips are making any difference to your pain it may be time to see an osteopath, who are specialists in relieving the pain associated with golfing injuries. Very often the treatment will involve not just treating the area of pain but also focusing on the associated muscles, nerves, tendons and ligaments to ensure that they are all functioning optimally. This will help reduce the chances of the same injury recurring while also enhancing the body’s resilience to future injuries.

If you have any concerns over an injury you have picked up playing golf or one that is affecting your game please feel free to give us a call. Or make an appointment for a free assessment to find out what’s going on. We’re always happy to give advice or address any concerns you may have.

It’s exam time again, with thousands of young people revising and cramming in order to pass those all-important school exams. Whether you have a young family member working towards common entrance, or older children taking GCSE or ‘A’ levels, it can be a stressful time for the whole family.

We often see teenagers and children with ‘tension’ type problems across their shoulder girdle, upper back and necks at this time of year. Some of our patients will come in with headaches and migraines, that have often been exacerbated by studying for long periods of time at a computer or worse, slumped on their beds with a lap top on their knees.

Carrying school bags of heavy books can result in low back and shoulder problems and added to the levels of general anxiety patients often find themselves distressed and uncomfortable at the very time they need to be functioning well. All this in conjunction with growth spurts and hormones. It’s a lot for any young person to have to to deal with!

Here at Cedar Hall Clinics we are happy to treat students of all ages. We are aware that teenagers are not often forthcoming when they are not feeling on top form and they often find it difficult to explain that they are a bit ‘up tight’ both emotionally and physically. Gentle osteopathic treatment can often help to relieve some of the mechanical stresses and strains associated with long hours of study and we are also able to offer advice about the best ways to position computers and laptops to reduce postural strain.

We have male and female osteopaths so each patient has a choice of practitioners. The only requirement is that any patient under 16 years old is accompanied by an adult.

A free assessment is a popular choice if you really don’t know what’s causing your pain or discomfort – it gives students, parents & practitioners a chance to find out what’s going on & discuss treatment options. Why not give it a try?

In the meantime good luck with those exams from all of us at Cedar Hall Clinics.

Our osteopath Lorraine offers some no nonsense, easy to follow top tips to get you back to performing at your best!

Are you training for or just completed a marathon? At this time of year our practitioner’s report seeing lots of patients complaining of running type injuries.

A little known fact is that if you raise your legs to 90 degrees following a run, the lactic acid will be felt less the following day in your legs. You should ideally rest them up a wall for a good 10 minutes.

Rehydration is very important. Ideally rehydration salts mixed with water but a good quality sports drink should be sufficient.

You don’t need vast amounts. But you do need to recover sodium levels that have been lost through perspiration.

Painful muscle cramp can be caused by dehydration. The best way to deal with it is to rest, sip a sports drink and gently try to stretch the affected muscle.

Relax for the rest of the day. It is going to take 3 days for the inflammation to reduce so maybe take turmeric supplements or even ibuprofen (if appropriate for you) to help.

Heat is not your friend. If you have a sore lower back, knee, shin or Achilles tendon there is more likely inflammation present. If you apply heat to an inflamed area it attracts more blood locally, which in turn increases inflammation.

As heat is applied pain reduces as the inflammatory markers in the blood are reduced/ diluted by the additional blood. Unfortunately this in turn brings more inflammatory markers. You take off the heat and the additional blood reduces but, the extra inflammatory markers remain.

You need ice or something cold on the sore areas. Ideally for 3-5 mins per hour and gentle movement to stop the inflammation from building up. I am not talking about a brisk walk, just a standing up every half hour or so just to mobilise around the back and hips for a couple of minutes.

Injury

There is very little an osteopath can do for the first 72 hours following an injury.

With muscle strains and ligamentous sprains our advice is RICE. That is unless it’s a significant injury. Then you should visit A&E immediately.

If you feel an injury is more than a sprain or strain you should see your GP. If you suspect fracture, dislocation or ligamentous rupture that’s a trip to the hospital.

Rest the injured part

Ice the area regularly. It’s recommended to ice an injury for 20 mins every 2 hours.

Compress the injured area. A compression bandage is ideal.

Elevate the injured area

If after 72 hours there is still pain, that’s the time to visit us at Cedar Hall Clinics in Thurrock or Benfleet in Essex. We are highly trained to give you a diagnosis, treatment (if appropriate), advice on management and a prognosis.

With regards to running again, injured or not, I’d recommend taking a little time off. At least to begin with.

Avoid any running at all for a week, maybe two, depending on how you feel. Walking is OK and is a good way to reduce the metabolic waste products from the muscles.

You can contact us on 01375 678877 or 01268 774249 we offer free assessments